Watch.



PATENTED MAY 23, 1905.

J. MAZER.

WATCH.

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INVENTOR.

UNITED STATES Patented Maly 23, 1905.

JOSEPH MAZER, OF SOUTH MCALESTER, INDIAN TERRITORY.

WATCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 790,509, dated May 23,1905,

Application filed August 16, 1904. Serial No. 220,954.

To all whom it may concern:

).e it known that I, JOSEPH MAZER, a resident of South McAlester, IndianTerritory, have invented a new and useful Improvement in latch-findingIndicators; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to an attachment for watches, clocks, and the likewhich is designed to indicate the extent to which the mainspring iswound, so that the observer may know not only when the springis fullywound or when it has run down, but also the extent to which it is woundat any particular moment, and the time when it will require rewinding.

In tusee or English-lever watches the winding-arbor turns one way whenthe watch is being wound and the opposite way when the watch is running,so that it is a simple matter to applya winding-indicator thereto, itonly being necessary to provide a train leading' directly from thewinding-arbor to the indicator-shaft, which train, arbor, andindicatorshaft turn one way when -the watch is being wound and theopposite way when the watch is running; but in watches in which thewinding-arbor after the watch has been wound remains stationary whilethe ordinary train of the watch is driven from the mainspring-barrel ithas been ditiicult to employ a windingindicator. It is not easy in suchwatches to design mechanism which will move the indicator when the watchis running' to indicate the extent to which the spring is unwound andwhich will bring the indicator back to zero when the watch is beingwound.

It has been attempted to apply windingindicators to watches providedwith going or safety barrels in several ways. Most of the mechanisms forthis purpose have included in the train of gearing either a yielding orfriction element which will slip when the watch is being wound, or saidtrain included means whereby itI could be connected to and disengagedfrom the winding-arbor and going-barrel. In the last form of mechanismthe train of gearing is necessarily complicated and with either form ot'gearing there is always liability that the parts will not come backaccurately to the original position-that is, either by a slip in thefriction element or by the teeth of the disengageable gearing' notalways coming into correct mesh. As a result it is not certain inwinding the watch that the indicator will be brought back to Zero. Ithas also been attempted to apply a winding-indicator to a watch ot' thecharacter named by using planetary gearing mounted on the barrel andarranged in the train between the indicator and the winding-arbor andbarrel. rIhe ditliculty with this arrangement is that the indicator willnot be moved at the same speed when winding as when the watch isrunning, this being due to the fact that while the watch is running theplanetary gearing in addition to the movement of rotation given theretoby the unwinding ot the mainspring also has a move- Ament ot' revolutionaround with the going'- barrel. As a result the indicator is moved adifferent distance while the watch is running than it is while winding,so that the indicator will not be brought back to Zero. Other attemptsto apply winding-indicators to watches provided with a safety or going'barrel have resulted in complicated trains ot' gearing, and generally apair of trains were necessary, one opeiating during winding and theother while running.

The object of my invention is to provide a winding-indicator for watchesor clocks provided with a going or safety barrel in which the foregoingdefects are overcome and in which a single train ot' gearing is employedand so arranged that it will insure the indicator being brought backexactly to Zero when the watch or clock is wound.

'lo these ends my invention consists, generally stated, in providing asingle train of gearing between the going-barrel and winding-arbor onthe one hand and the indicator on the other, which train is positive andnon-yielding, is constantly in connection and never disengaged, andwhich will insure the indicator being moved through the same distancewhen winding as when running.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure lis a face view ot' a watch,showinga winding-indicator. Fig. 2 is a face View otl the watch with thedial and parts oi' the plate broken IOO away. Fig. 3 is a section on theline 3 3, Fig. 2; and Fig. 4 is a section on the line 44, Fig. 2.

In the drawings, 1 indicates the dial of the watch; 2, the bottom plateof the movement; 3, the winding-arbor, and 4 the going-barrel, in whichthe mainspring 5 is inclosed, with its inner end secured to thewinding-arbor and its outer end secured to the going-barrel. rIhegoing-barrel is provided on its periphery with the gear-teeth 6,whichengage with the usual train and drive the watch in the ordinaryway. Only a portion of such watchtrain is indicated on the drawings, andas the same has the ordinary mode of operation and has no bearing on theinvention claimed in this application it will not be described.

The winding-arbor 3 may be turned in winding the watch in any suitableway. In -the drawings a well-known form of stem-winding watch is shown.The winding-shaft 7 is provided with a gear 8, engaging the usualcrowngear 9, and this is connected by an intermediate gear 10 to theratchet-wheel 11, secured to the winding-arbor 3. A spring-pressed pawl12 engages the teeth of the ratchet-wheel in a well-known manner,preventing the same from turning backward.

The dial 1 has on its face the small dial 4, which is marked withsuitable designationsas, for instance, from zero( O) to "24 and also thewords Wind up-and over which travels the indicator-hand 15. This hand isconnected to the 'front end of an arbor 16, which projects through thedial and through a bearing 17 in the bottom plate 2 of thewatch-movement. This bearing forms a center on which revolves thecrown-gear 9 of the winding mechanism, the arbor 16 being locatedeccentrically therein, as shown.

To the inner end of the arbor 16 is secured a gear 18, meshing with theidler-gear 19, journaled on a projecting portion 20 of the plate 2, andwhich in turn meshes with a pinion 21, loosely mounted around thewindingarbor. Suitably secured to the pinion 21 or formed integraltherewith is the larger gear 22, also revolving loosely around the arbor3 and meshing with a planetary pinion 23,mount ed to rotate on a stud24, secured to the head ofthe going-barrel. Secured to or formedintegral with .the pinion 23 is a larger gear 25, which meshes with apinion 26, fixed to the lower end of a sleeve 27, which looselysurrounds the winding-arbor 3 and which at its upper end carries a largegear 28. .The gears 21 and 22 revolve loosely on this sleeve 27. Thegear 28 is connected bysuitableintermediate gearing with the windingmechanism of the watch, and, as shown in the drawings, it is connectedto the ratchet-wheel 11 by two intermediate gears 29 and 30, suitablyjournaled on the plate 2.

The mechanismdescribed constitutes the entire train of gearing foroperating the indil wind up the mainspring.

' stationary pinion 26.

cator 15, and it will be observed that this train of gearing is positivethroughout and that no part thereof is yielding, nor is any part of saidgearing ever disconnected in the operation of lthe watch.

The operation is as follows: We will assume that the watch has run downand that it is to be wound up. In this condition the indicator- 'hand 15will be pointing toward the words Wind up on the small dial 14. Inwinding the watch the going-barrel 4 becomes the relatively stationarypart, while the winding-arbor 3 is rotated by the ratchet-wheel 11 toThe ratchet-wheel through the intermediate gears 29 and 30 imparts arotary movement to the gear 28,which is secured to the sleeve 27,carrying the pinion 26. The latter therefore will be rotated with thewinding-arbor, but at a different rate of speed, depending upon therelative number of teeth. in the gears 11, 28, 29, and 30, and either inthe same or in the opposite direction as said arbor. The gear 26 rotatesplanetary gears 25 and 23, and the latter rotate gears 22 and 21, whichare loosely journaled around the sleeve 27. The gear 2l being connectedby idler 19 with the gear 18 on the indicator-arbor imparts movement tothe latter and turns the hand back to zero position. The size and numberof the various gears and pinions are so arranged and proportioned thatthe indicatorfhand will reach the zero-point on the dial 14 when themainspring is fully wound up. When the watch is running, thewinding-arbor 3 becomes the relatively stationary part, while thegoing-barrel becomes the rotary part. As a consequence the pinion 26becomes stationary, because it is connected to the winding-arbor throughthe sleeve 27 gears 28, 29, and 30, and ratchetwheel 11. The rotation ofthe going-barrel will carry the stud 24, with the planetary gears 23 and25, in an orbital path around the As the gear 25 meshes with the gear26, it is given a slow rotary movement while traveling in its orbitalpath, and this movement through the connected pinion 23 is imparted tothe gears 22 and 21, thus giving them a slow rotary movement about thesleeve 27 and through the idler 19 and gear 18 turning theindicator-handslowly in the opposite direction from that given theretowhen the watch is being wound. As a consequence the indicator-hand 15will be moved slowly over the dial 14 from 0 to lOO IIO

24, and if the watch is not then wound up v it will move over the wordsWind up, when it will indicate to the observer that the watch must bewound. By means of this indicator therefore it is possible at all timesto determine to what extent the mainspring is still wound up and at whattime the timepiece must again be wound. Inasmuch as the train of gearingis never disconnected and as it does not embody any yielding or slipelement, the

action of the indicator' is always positive and accurate. The gears 29and 30 between the winding mechanism and the pinion 26 will be givensuch relative sizes that the indicatorhand in winding will always bebrought back to Zero, thus traveling through exactly the same dist-ancethat it does while the watch is running. By this intermediate gearingthe evil eflect which results from the travel of the planetary gearsaround with the barrel is overcome.

Instead of using a going-barrel such as illustrated, in which the entirebarrel rotates during the running of the watch, my invention can beapplied equally as well to what is known as a safety-barrel, wherein thebarrel itself does not rotate, but only the head thereof, to which headthe inner end of the mainspring is connected. l intend, therefore, bythe term going-barrel as used in my claims to include not only thegoing-barrel illustrated, but also a safety-barrel.

My invention may be applied to any springdriven mechanism as well as towatches and clocks.

That I claim is- 1. In a watch or the like, the combination with themainspring, and a barrel and arbor connected to the opposite endsthereof, of an indicator non-concentric with the barrel and arranged toshow the condition of the mainspring, and a single train of non-yieldingcontinuously -connected gearing connecting the barrel and arbor with theindicator, whereby the rotation of the barrel moves the indicator awayfrom Zero and the rotation or' the arbor sets the indicator at zero.

2. In a watch or the like, the combination with the mainspring, and abarrel and arbor connected to the opposite ends thereof', of anindicator non-concentric with the barrel and arranged to show thecondition of the mainspring, and a single train of non-yieldingcontinuously connected gearing connecting the barrel and arbor with theindicator, whereby the rotation of the barrel moves the indicator in onedirection and the rotation of the arbor moves the same in the oppositedirection.

3. In a watch or the like, the combination with the mainspring, and abarrel and arbor connected to the opposite ends thereof, of anindicator' to show the condition of the mainspring, and a single trainof non-yielding continuously-connected gearing connecting the barrel andarbor with the indicator in one direction and when the arbor is rotatedto move the indicator through the same distance in the oppositedirection.

4. In a watch or the like, the combination with the mainspring, and agoing-barrel and winding-arbor connected to the opposite ends thereof,of an indicator to show the condition of the mainspring, a pinion gearedto the winding-arbor to rotate therewith and at a dierent rate or'speed, a planetary gear meshing with said pinion and mounted on thegoing-barrel, and gearing' connecting the planetary gear with theindicator, whereby the rotation or' the barrel moves the indicator inone direction and the rotation of the winding-arbor moves the same inthe opposite direction.

5. In a watch or the like, the combination with the mainspring, and agoing-barrel and winding-arbor connected to the opposite ends thereof,of an indicator to show the condition of the mainspring, a wheel mountedloosely around the winding-arbor, gearing intermediate the same and saidarbor to rotate the same with said arbor, a pinion, a planetary gearengaging said pinion, said pinion and planetary gear being' carried, theone thereof by the barrel and the other thereof by the loose gear on thearbor, and gearing connecting said planetary gear with the indicator,

6. In a watch, the combination with the mainspring, and a going-barreland windingarbor connected to the opposite ends thereof, of an indicatorto show the condition or' the mainspring, a pinion loosely journaledaround the winding-arbor, gearing connecting the same with thewinding-arbor to rotate therewith but at a different speed, a gearmeshing with said pinion and mounted on the goingbarrel, and gearingconnecting said last-named gear with the indicator whereby the rotationof the barrel moves the indicator in one direction and the rotation ofthe winding-arbor moves the same in the opposite-direction.

7. In a watch or the like, the combination with the mainspring, and agoing-barrel and winding-arbor connected to the opposite ends thereof,of an indicator to show the condition of the mainspring, a pinionconcentric with the going-barrel, gearing connecting the same with thewindingarbor, a planetary gear mounted on the barrel and engaging saidpinion, and gearing connecting said planetary gear with the indicator.

8. In a watch or the like, the combination with the mainspring, and agoing-barrel and winding-arbor connected to the opposite ends thereof,ot' an indicator to show the condition of the mainspring, planetarygearing comprising a pinion mounted loosely on the winding-arbor, and anintermeshing gear mounted on the going-barrel and meshing with saidpinion to connect the winding-arbor and the going-barrel with theindicator, and gearing connecting said pinion with the winding-arbor torotate therewith but at a different speed.

9. In a watch or the like, the combination with the mainspring, and agoing-barrel and winding-arbor connected to the opposite ends thereof,of an indicator showing the condition of the mainspring, a pinion drivenfrom the winding-arbor but at a different speed, a planetary gearcarried by the going-barrel and engaging said pinion, a gear mountedloosely on IOO IIO

a gear loosely mounted on the sleeve, planetiary gears mounted on thegoing-barrel and connecting said pinion and said loose gear, and gearingconnecting said loose gear with I5 the indicator.

In testimonyr whereof I, the said JOSEPH MAZER, have hereunto set myhand.

JOSEPH MAZER. Witnesses:

P. D. CHASTAIN,

ALBERT W. JONES.

